Case 3272. Microsaurus Dejean, 1833 (Insecta, Coleoptera): Proposed Conservation Of Usage By Designation Of Staphylinus Ochripennis Menetries, 1832 As The Type Species

3 Pages·2003·0.88 MB·English

by  Ales Smetana

Bulletin ofZoological Nomenclature 60(4) December 2003 281
Case 3272
Microsaurm Dejean, 1833 (Insecta, Coleoptera): proposed
conservation of usage by designation of Staphylimis ochvipennis
Menetries, 1832 as the type species
Ales Smetana
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Central Experimental Farm, K. W.
Neatby Bldg., Ottawa, ON KIA 0C6, Canada (e-mail; [email protected])
Abstract. The purpose ofthis apphcation, in relation to Article 70 ofthe Code, is to
conserve the widespread usage of the generic name Microsaiiriis Dejean, 1833 for a
group of rove beetles (family staphylinidae) by designating Stapliylimis ochvipennis
Menetries, 1832 as the type species of Microsaiirus in place of Staphylimis lateralis
Gravenhorst, 1802. Members of the genus Microsaiirus are north temperate in
distribution, with the majority of species occurring in the Palaearctic Region. The
conservation ofthe long-standing usage ofMicrosaiirus is required for the upcoming
publication of the second volume of The Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera.
Ouediiisfissus, Q. latinus, Q. lateralis, Q. scheerpeltzi(with synonym Q. cyprinus) and
Q. siiramensis (with synonym Q. grouziacus) are transferred from Microsaiirus to
Raphirus Stephens, 1829.
Keywords. Nomenclature; taxonomy; Coleoptera; staphylinidae; Microsaiirus;
Microsaiirus ochripemiis; rove beetles; Holarctic; Palaearctic.
1. Dejean (1833, p. 61) introduced the generic name Microsaiirus for a group of
rove beetles (family staphylinidae) and included 11 available specific names, of
which only three (Staphylimis lateralis Gravenhorst, 1802, Staphylimis ochripennis
Menetries, 1832 (p. 145) and Staphylimisscitus Gravenhorst, 1806) currently remain
in Microsaiirus.
2. Westwood (1838, p. 16) subsequently designated one ofthe originally included
species, Staphylimis lateralis Gravenhorst, 1802, as the type species of Microsaiirus.
3. Stephens (1829, p. 23) established the rove beetle genus Raphirus, and Mulsant
& Rey (1876, p. 616) established the rove beetle genus Sauridus. Both ofthese genera
were subsequently included, together with Microsaiirus, as subgenera of Quedius
Stephens, 1829. Traditionally thesethree subgeneraweredistinguishedby relativeeye
size until Smetana (1971, p. 184), showing this character to be inadequate for
distinguishing between the three subgenera when considered in isolation from other
characters, synonymized Sauridus with Raphirus.
4. Smetana (1988, p. 183) pointed out that all Microsaiirus have two setiferous
punctures posteromediad ofthe posterior frontal puncture on the head, whereas all
Raphirus have only one setiferous puncture at this location. This character state is a
rehable distinguishing character of the two subgenera irrespective ofthe size of the
eyes (see Smetana, 1997, p. 51).
) '
282 Bulletin ofZoological Nomenclature 60(4) December2003
5. Since Staphylinus lateralis Gravenhorst, 1802 (p. 35). the type species of
Microsauriis, has only one setiferous puncture in the location on the head (see para.
4 above), it has to be transferred to Raphints, along with the following members of
the Qiiedius lateralis-species group. These are: Q. fissus Gridelli, 1938, Q. latimis
Gridelli, 1938, 0. scheerpeltzi Gridelli, 1938 (with its synonym Q. cyprinus Franz.
1987) and Q. swamemis Eppelsheim, 1880 (with its synonym Q. grouziaciis Coiifait,
1966).
6. If the validly designated type species of Microsaunis, Staphylinus lateralis,
remains the type species of Microsauriis, Microsaurus would become a junior
synonym of Raphirus and the name Ediquus Mulsant & Rey. 1876 would replace
Microsaurus. This would cause great confusion as the name Ediquus Mulsant & Rey.
1876hasnot beenused as avalidnameforover40yearsandhasahomonymEdiquus
Reitter, 1887 (Coleoptera) (although this was replaced by the name Farus by
Blackwelder in 1952, p. 165). Both Microsaurus and Raphirus have a long history of
use in theircurrentmeaning, witheach name beingused bywell over20 authorssince
they were introduced (see Herman, 2001, pp. 3089-3090, for details) and these
changes would seriously affect the nomenclatural stability ofthe group.
7. The International Commision on Zoological Nomenclature is accordingly
asked:
(1 to use its plenary power to set aside all previous fixations of type species for
the nominal genus Microscmrus Dejean, 1833 and to designate Staphylinus
ochripennis Menetries, 1832 as the type species;
(2) to place on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology the name
Microsaurus Dejean, 1833 (gender: mascuhne), type species Staphylinus
ochripennis Menetries, 1832 as ruled in (1) above;
(3) to place on the Official List ofSpecific Names in Zoology the name ochripennis
Menetries. 1832, as published in the binomen Staphylinus ochripennis (specific
name ofthe type species of Microsaurus Dejean, 1833).
Acknowledgement
I thank Lee H. Herman (American Museum ofNatural History, New York) for
reviewing an earlier draft ofthis paper.
References
Blackwelder,R.E. 1952. ThegenericnamesofthebeetlefamilyStaphylinidae.with anessayon
genotypy. Bulletin ofthe UnitedStates National Museum. 200: 1^83.
Coiffait, H. 1966. Ouedius nouveaux. 5e note sur le genre Ouedius. Bulletin de la Societe
d'Histoire Naturelle de Toulouse. 105: 44-54.
Dejean, P.F.M.A. 1833. Cataloguedes Coleopteresde la collection de M. le Conite Dejean. 176
pp. Mequignon-Marvis, Paris.
Eppelsheim, E. 1880. Ueber vicarirende Fliigeldeckenfarbung bei den Quedien. Mitteilungen
der Sclnveizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft. 5: 577-586.
Franz, H. 1987. Beitrag zur Koleopterenfauna Cyperns. Sitzungsberichte der Osterreichischen
Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Abteilung I.
196: 67-87.
Gravenhorst, J.L.C. 1802. Coleoptera Microptera Brunsvicensia . . . l.wi, 207 pp. Reichard.
Brunsvigae.
Gravenhorst, J.L.C. 1806. Monographia Coleopterorum Micropterorum. 248 pp. Dieterich.
Gottingae.
Bulletin ofZoological Nomenclature 60(4) December2003 283
Gridelli,E. 1938. Studisulgenere QuediusSteph. BolletinodellaSocietdEntomologicaItaliana,
70: 6-19.
Herman, L. 2001. Catalog ofthe Staphylinidae (Insecta: Coleoptera). 1758 to the end ofthe
second millennium. Bulletin ofthe American Museum ofNatural History, 265: 1-4218.
Menetries, E. 1832. Catalogue raisonne des objeis de zoologie recueillis dans tin voyage au
Caucase . . . 271, xxxii, iv pp. L'Academie Imperiale des Sciences, St. Petersbourg.
Mulsant, E. & Rey, C. 1876. Tribu des brevipennes. [Staphyliniens]. Annales de la Societe
d'Agriculture. Histoire Naturelle et Arts utiles de Lyon, (4)8: 145-856.
Reitter, E. 1887. Insecta in itinere CI. N. Przewalskii in Asia centrali novissime lecta. VI.
Clavicornia, Lamellicornia et Serricornia. Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossicae, 21:
201-234.
Smetana, A. 1971. Revision of the tribe Quediini ofAmerica North ofMexico (Coleoptera:
Staphylinidae). Menwirs ofthe Entomological Society ofCanada, 79: i-vi, 1-303.
Smetana, A. 1988. Revision ofthe tribesQuediini and Atanygnathini. Part II. The Himalayan
region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). Quaestiones Entomologicae, 24: 163- 464.
Smetana,A. 1997. ContributionstotheknowledgeoftheQuediina(Coleoptera, Staphylinidae,
Staphylinini) of China. Part 6. Genus Quedius Stephens, 1829. Subgenus Microsaurus
Dejean, 1833. Section 5. Bulletin ofthe National Science Museum, (A)23: 51-68.
Stephens, J.F. 1829. The nomenclature ofBritish insects; being a compendious list ... 68 pp.
Baldwin & Cradock, London.
Westwood, J.O. 1838. Synopsis of the genera of British insects. Pp. 1^8 in Westwood, J.O.
(Ed.), .An introduction to themodern classification . . . Longman, Orme. Brown, Green &
Longman, London.
Acknowledgement ofreceipt ofthis application was published in BZN 60: 94.
Comments on this case are invited for publication (subject to editing) in the Bidletin; they
should be sent to the Executive Secretary, I.C.Z.N., c/o The Natural History Museum,
Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K. (e-mail: iczn(a)nhm.ac.uk).